


Some things never change

by Madam_Violet



Series: The Vault Chronicles [26]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Classic characters in new who, Gen, Memories, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-23
Updated: 2018-05-23
Packaged: 2019-05-13 01:49:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14739783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madam_Violet/pseuds/Madam_Violet
Summary: When Bill meets an old friend of the Doctor, she learns a few things about her friends and comes to a sad realisation.





	Some things never change

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TorchWoodTimeLord](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TorchWoodTimeLord/gifts).



> For TorchWoodTimeLord.  
> Sorry if it's not great, I didn't feel very inspired for writing the Brig. I should educate myself and watch classics ^^.

When Bill arrived to the Doctor's office, she only found a closed door. She rolled her eyes with a cheeky smile.  
"Never late ? My arse !"  
She waited for a little twenty minutes before heading to the Vault with a bit of anxiety. She tried to rationalise things, it was probably nothing to worry about. The two scatter heads probably lost track of time watching cartoons or doing other silly stuff with Scary Poppins. That, or she escaped and killed them both. Bill shivered. No, they were definitely watching the "one more episode" of Steven Universe and the Doctor got hooked. It was still more careful to come with a weapon. She returned to the kitchens and chose a long broom with an iron stick. Stupid idea, but as far as she knew, it could be effective against a Time Lord.  
Approaching slowly to the Vault, she heard voices. She froze a moment and listened. She didn't know a few of them. The other ones were the Doctor, Nardole and Missy. They were laughing and seemed to have a good time. Curiouser and curiouser. And she thought the Vault was meant to be a secret...  
"Hey, it's naughty to snoop hidden behind a door !"  
Bill froze at the sound of Missy's voice. The door opened to reveal a surprised Doctor.  
"Bill ? What are you doing here."  
"I should be the one asking that. I've been waiting for you for at least twenty minutes !"  
"Blimey !" the Dcotor exclaimed, watching his watch. "Time always fly when you're having a good time. I guess it's too late for tutoring, why don't you come in ?"  
The girl did as she was told and find herself face to face with a bunch of people in military uniform. Rather old military uniform, 70s or 80s, maybe ?  
"Bill, those people are old friends of mine. Ran into them this afternoon as I was chasing a lost Sontaran ship through the Vortex. Why don't you join us ? Missy made a great apple pie for the occasion."  
"Wait, Missy made what ?"  
The Time Lady sighed in annoyance, but it was obvious she felt sort of proud.  
"I've made a pie, sweetie. To show them how nicey nicey nice I am."  
"You've got a kitchen in there ? Anyway, I'm sure it's delicious" she added not to offend the psychotic woman.  
"Don't worry" Nardole whispered, "I've monitored her all along. She can't have access to a oven on her own anyway."  
"So, don't you introduce me to your friends ?" she asked the Doctor.  
"Yes, of course. The fine gentleman with the legendary moustache is the Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge Stewart, and the other ones are his lieutenants, the agents Yates and Benton. We were talking about good old times, when I was stuck on the Earth and Missy was trying to invade it over and over."  
Nardole shot an angry glance to the Doctor for his poor choice of words, as the Time Lady was blushing, something between "I'm sorry" and "admit it was fun".  
"So she's the one who replaces miss Grant" the one with the moustache said with a warm laugh.  
Bill bit her tongue to avoid saying something stupid, but she still felt offended to be "the one who replace what's-her-name".  
"What are you doing for a living, young lady."  
"She makes chips !" Missy exclaimed with a smirk.  
Bill shot a killing glance to her.  
"And they're the most delicious chips ever" the Time Lady added sheepishly.  
"Actually I'm working at the cafeteria to save money for my studies. I want to start a degree in physics as soon as possible. The Doctor is tutoring me so I have better chances for the entry exams."  
"Wonderful, this country needs hard-working youth like you" the Brigadier answered.  
Bill bit in her slice of apple pie, still very confused about all of this. According to the frown on Nardole's inexistent eyebrows, he was probably as confused.  
"Could someone explain what's actually going on ?" she finally asked.  
"I told you, Bill. I was chasing a Sontaran ship when it landed right in the 80s. I was a bit afraid I would run into myself. I don't know why, things always get weird when it happens, last time there were Zygons. I think, I don't remember very well because of the paradox. Anyway, I ran into UNIT who were chasing the same Sontarans and I decided to help them. It's a bit weird to run into old friends, you know how it is, especially friends you haven't seen for a good 1500 years. But we chatted a little and I finally told him about the Vault and Missy. Well, he already knew thanks to a certain cyborg, but never mind. And since they know her quite well, I thought it would be fun to reunite and have a drink here and now."  
Bill nodded, still unconvinced by the stupid story the Doctor just told her. She couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for Missy who probably didn't have much choice. Well, it was probably a good thing for her, having visitors and a fun party at her place.  
"Actually, when I saw the Doctor I couldn't believe my eyes" the Brigadier said with a laugh. "I've seen many of them, but it's always a surprise. Especially meeting one from the far future."  
"Not so far" Bill said.  
"Chronologically it's my far future" the Doctor corrected. "You still have a lot to improve, Bill Potts, your time logic is still very flawed and linear."  
"We had a tea at my office after we arrested the Sontaran ship, and he told me he was currently stuck in the late 10s" the Brigadier went on. "I was a bit curious, of course. Not that I think knowing the future is a good thing at all, but there's no harm time travelling a little, as long as I don't disrupt things. I asked him if he was still on his secret mission Jo didn't tell me about, and he told me all about the Master's failed execution, the underground prison and the oath he had taken. I wasn't really expecting that, though. Time did a lot of good to you, miss."  
Missy beamed and took a sip of her tea, not missing the appreciative look. Bill resisted the urge to make a sarcastic comment. The 70s, a bit of misogyny wasn't going to kill her. And to be honest, the Time Lady was quite good-looking. She had even styled her usually messy hair today. The tea party went on nicely, lots of old memories shared, most of them letting Bill out of the loop. She understood at this time Missy was at least 70% of the Doctor's problem, but they brushed the deaths aside and recalled the fun parts, wacky disguises and heroic victories of the good guys. When 8 pm rang, the Doctor invited the visitors to go back to the TARDIS while Nardole stayed behind to help Missy clean the place.

Once outside, the Brigadier went serious again and Bill guessed he wasn't exactly happy with the current situation.  
"So you're sure she's under control ?" he asked the Doctor once in his office.  
"She keeps saying she can leave whenever she wants, but I'm not sure if it's true or if she's just boasting. The locks are very complex and Nardole spends a lot of time guarding her."  
"He's a robot, isn't he ? Are you sure he's not under her influence ?"  
The Doctor scoffed.  
"Nardole ? Under influence ? You have no idea who you're dealing with !"  
"I trust you, but admit it's a peculiar situation. We just had tea and a slice of pie in the Master's prison cell, and if I'm sure of one thing, the most innocent this one looks, the most likely he, or she, is planning a thing."  
"Missy keeps planning things. Last month she built a temporal telegraph to mess with history. Well, it was mainly my fault as I gave her all the materials she asked. I wanted to see what she had in mind."  
"Doctor, if I can give you my opinion you are playing with fire. I know it's a delicate question, but as the Master is now a she, and from man to man, don't you think you might be thinking with your feelings rather than your reason ?"  
The Doctor's eyes went a bit to wide and Bill could have sworn she saw his pale ash coloured cheeks redden a little.  
"What ? No ! I mean, why on Earth ?"  
The Brigadier nodded, still unconvinced.  
"You know, I've noticed how close you were, back then. Things happened, and he became what he became, but in the end you care about him, you've always cared. Now he's in this body, I guess it would be easy to... manipulate you. Be careful, and remember who she is, The Master, renegade Time Lord and intergalactic criminal."  
"I won't, I promise. She's in there for a few centuries yet, I have time to figure what to do with her later. I know she can change. So much happened since you last met me. Gallifrey lose the war against Daleks and no one came out of it unharmed. I'm everything she has left as a family and she needs me by her side."  
"Do what you think is right, but please, be careful. It was good to see you again, Doctor."  
Bill saw the Doctor's eyes becoming teary as he accompanied his old friends to the TARDIS. Being so old, he had lost so many friends. Bill could barely grasp such an amount of loss and suffering. And yet he kept moving forwards and meeting new people, doing it over and over for a time that felt like an eternity. Humans and most aliens were mayflies. Only Missy would stay, as unmovable as the Doctor. Just the two of them, probably until the end of times. It was sad and quite beautiful.


End file.
